Yggdrasil Online
by terrapin01
Summary: Come on, do you really need me to explain how this is going to go down? SAO cast gets dragged along with Momonga. I definitely love Overlord way more than SAO. VOLUME 10 MARCH SOMETIME. MAYBE HOPEFULLY. Spoilers may be said/implied for up to and including volume 9.
1. Chapter 1

Kirito's hand danced on the hilt of his sword. He wasn't nervous, just a bit…unsettled by the abundance of people that gathered. The town square was packed to the brim with players all bristling with excitement. The collective glow of the magic items painted the city with a multitude of hues, like the beginning of some rave. The remaining moon floated in the sky, as the planetary rings bisected the night. Asuna, leader of the Knights of Blood stepped onto the podium erected in the center of town.

"Welcome, I'm glad to see before me so many heroes." A strong cheer ran through the crowd. "Not only heroes, but craftsmen and thieves," More hollering. "All of us have banded together, as humans.

"As you know Yggdrasil Online is shutting down soon. For years we have played this game, exploring and creating. The worlds that make up Yggdrasil have changed by our hand, but it almost time to let it go. But not just yet! Since almost the beginning, there has been a curse on the land. One that protects monsters, one so strong that even Kayaba Akihiko could not defeat them! You know of whom I speak, the guild of monsters, Ainz Ooal Gown!" Here the hostilities began to make themselves apparent, the crowd jeered and shook their weapons, crying for blood. Kirito felt the malice was a little intense. He may have dumped years of his life into the game, but he still felt Ainz Ooal Gown were just another group of players. In fact, they practically created a good deal of the game's long history by playing villains. It wasn't as if they were hurting anyone for real.

"They have resided unassailable in the Great Tomb of Nazarick. They have remained undefeatable. Now though, Yggdrasil is drawing to a close. Can we really let them reign for the entirety of Yggdrasil's history? Should we not defeat them in a final blaze of glory? Let it be that when this world ends, all that remains of Nazarick is a smoking ruin!"

"There are but four days left, use all the materials you have, for after this it means nothing! When you blacksmiths finish the swords for your comrades, create one more for yourself; let every man and woman march on Nazarick. After tomorrow, we shall embark on the final raid of of Yggdrasil! The Final Days of Judgement!"

Kirito wished she hadn't stirred the crowd into such frenzy, all this jostling and shouting. Her speech was quite rousing, especially for her. Since he was a top tier players, the Knights of Blood occasionally hired him to help during World Class raids. The Asuna he remembered was much more soft spoken. Someone probably wrote the speech for her. Maybe Argo knew.

Using his agility he slipped over to the podium. He'd been invited to the guild leader conference that was to take place beforehand. Asuna stepped down from the stage and greeted him.

"Evening Kirito. Ready for the fight?" "You know it. By the way, that was one hell of a speech you gave." "Yeah, I figured if it's going to be the final raid they should be properly riled up. Let's head inside, the others are waiting."

The tavern was the only one in town vacant, it had been reserved for this meeting way in advance. Only the bartender and the guild leaders were allowed inside. And Kirito. The fact he could remain at their level without a guild drew more eyes than he would like, but he could deal with it. He saw some familiar faces around the table. Klein, leader of Fuurinkazan; Argo, leader of The Network; Griselda, leader of Golden Apple and, to Kirito's great surprise, PoH, leader of Laughing Coffin.

"Well, if it isn't the Black Swordsman himself. Finally found something you couldn't do on your own?"

"Have you finally gotten tired of picking on people far below your level?"

"Hah! Your tongue is as sharp as ever. Pity you never joined." Kirito shook his head. PoH respected power, and despite his harassment and trying to assassinate Kirito multiple times, still thought of them as something like friends. Kirito was fairly sure the correct term was rival and still disagreed with the assessment. From his perspective, Laughing Coffin caused more problems than Ainz Ooal Gown, but they hadn't formed an invincible fortress.

Before moving on to the plan, the leaders introduced themselves for those who did not know them. Asuna led, as leader of the group with the largest power/population cross product.

"My name is Asuna, leader of the Knights of Blood. I believe you've all heard of the guild. I took over after Heathcliffe, better known as Kayaba Akihiko. The Knights of Blood are a large mid to high level group. We specialize in raids and large-scale battles. I hope to help organize our forces."

"My name's Klein and I lead Fuurinkazan. We're a high level guild of a few buddies in RL. Even against some World Class threats, we've yet to lose a single man!"

"You all know me, but I'm Argo. I run The Network and specialize in gathering info. My people also do a bit of exploring, so we can survive in unknown territory. We'll do best scouting ahead and facilitating communications and any jobs that require mobility. I've also consolidated information from previous raids on Nazarick."

"My name is Griselda, and I lead Golden Apple. I'm honored that you think our group is capable enough to be considered one of the leaders in this event. There are eight of us, and I hope we can be of service to you all."

"I go by Tantamount in-game. I lead Lewd Scone Festival. We're 27 nerds who devote way too much time to gaming. We'll be acting independently, but I'd like us not to get in each other's way."

"Agil, head of 7th District Shopping. I'm also representing the other crafting guilds. I'll be heading the efforts to distribut our weapons most effectively. We have a large store of Legacy and Relic items, as well as a few Legendary items. Let's have our people fight at full strength."

"PoH, founder of Laughing Coffin. We're specialists and we're all been able to beat your people. We like getting the drop on people, but we're heading in for a bit of revenge. Laughing Coffin will be the one disabling the tough guys."

"Grisia of the 12 Holy Knights. Specializing in healing magic, my paladins and priests will keep you on your feet. The other 11, Judgment Knight in particular, are excellent warriors. Praise the Sun."

"Ah, then I'm The Black Swordsman Kirito." Those at the table looked at him. What? He didn't have a guild! "I'm a solo player. I dual wield [Demon's Final Hope] and [Rainbow of Despair]."

"Two Divine class items? Ah, That was you! You're the one who fought Kayaba, aren't you!" Agil exclaimed. "Man, I heard you got your hands on a Scale of Tiamant, I really wanted one of those."

"Yep! That was Kii-bou alright."

"How about we get down to business."

"To defeat the Huns?" Tantamount interjected. Asuna gave him a withering look, making him shrink back. "I thought you guys knew what you were getting into when you invited me."

"Ignoring that, we aren't the only ones organizing for this. The heteromorphic races and some demi-humans have allied themselves with Nazarick for the final battle. This means that not only are we facing Nazarick, but a whole army of players a their summons before even getting inside. There aren't any other large heteromorphic guilds with much influence, so they'll be rabble for the most part. High powered rabble, but good organization should trump that.

Our basic plan is to charge towards Nazarick from multiple fronts. The...Lewd Scone Festival wishes to work by themselves and can approach from the south. The Knights of Blood will lead from the north. Slightly offset to the east, I want the center of the Holy Knights. We should each have enough healers to deal with the lesser threats without assigning your high level priests. To the West, I want Fuurinkazan, Golden Apple and Kirito. To the East will be the rest, led by Laughing Coffin. Argo, you'll be serving as our communication and scouts."

Kirito eventually started glaring off into space. His role was to stick with Klein's group and Golden Apple. Since Fuurinkazan had such durability, they would be leading the charge just behind the scouts to cut down what they could and tank until reinforcements arrived. Except for when they were in the process of healing or sleeping, they were supposed to keep the pressure on. With Kirito's gear being top-notch save customize Divine class items or World Class, he didn't really need to listen to the assignment of gear.

The day before the raid, everyone was moving into position. Kirito was introduced to Golden Apple and struggled to remember the names of Klein's friends. They practiced moving together and covering each other on the weak monsters of the forest as they travelled. Then they arrived to their destination. The Mire of Souls.

Seriously, Ains Ooal Gown had too much power. Originally a normal sized swamp, they had the power to use magic to slowly terraform the surroundings. While he could probably beat even several of their members individually, it was as their existence as a guild that made them powerful. They spent their resources developing their base and items like it was a city building game. The forces of 'humanity' had to drag their way through muck from this point forward.

Instead they stopped. They needed to wait for the signal. Argo said that the denizens of Nazarick would know if they entered the swamp. The charge needed to be simultaneous for the maximum advantage. So the group waited, staring into the thick vines and mud, shadows enough to hide plenty of enemies.

"Hey Kirito, remember back in the day when we first met? Can you believe how long it's been?"

"Ah yes, before pigs were nerfed."

"You don't gotta say it like that." Klein punched Kirito in the shoulder "You really should hang out with us some time RL."

"I mean, I guess I could. Shoot me an email or something. No promises though." Klein and Griselda's groups swapped stories of all they'd done in game. So much time spent in Yggdrasil. It wasn't really real, but that didn't matter. They had a good time. Stories stopped when they heard the clash of battle in the distance.

"That's not our cue..." The knight Schmitt muttered. A bright flash was seen in the distance.

"No plan survives contact with the enemy! It's our turn!"

The 19 charged forward into the depths of the jungle. Kirito took point. There were only low to mid level players and as expected, they didn't have any plan. Springing off trees, he cut them down easily. Fuurinkazan had a bit of trouble keeping up in their armor, but didn't fall behind. Kirito knew he needed to slow down to let his party catch up, but still kept them just on the edge of his vision.

"Man down Kirito! Get your ass back here and help cover us!" He heard Klein shout. An armored knight lay on the ground drinking a health potion as a lich covered in filth launched spells. Hiding in the mud, were they? Yoko was supposed to be in charge of barriers for the group, but not seeing a magic enemy hadn't buffed Golden Apple. He can't believe the guy fell to a lich. They were level 30 at most man, get a hold of yourself. Kirito zipped in and out in a flash, leaving a pile of bones after a quick flurry of strikes.

"Sorry about this dude, this armor is hell in a swamp." Klein muttered. Kirito nodded in acceptance. They'd want heavy armor for when they got to the tomb proper. Still a wasted health potion was a wasted health potion.

With Kirito in the lead, one of the top 10 players, they experienced little difficulty, even when encountering other players in the 90-110 range. Over course the troubles they did come across took out Caynz and someone else from Golden Apple. It really went to show how the level calculation broke down at higher skills. Golden Apple's members had high primary skills, but they hadn't focused on any auxiliary talents. Level measurement weighted fewer well developed skills higher than a jack-of-all-trades, but it was made under the assumption a character would branch out to better suit their style. Kirito did his research before leveling, his HP, DPS, armor, and item loadout were all above what one might expect.

They soon found themselves at the foot of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. It was...as quiet as the grave. Kirito scanned the area with the Observer skill. A lot of human footprints showed up, as well as some marks that indicated battle. The obsidian gates were still shut however.

"Looks like someone's already been here..."

"My col's on the Scones. They're the only ones crazy enough to take this place on their own. Still, we need to stick to the plan." Klein looked to his friends "Dale, Kunimittz, radius 50 meters out. Harry One, use those balls of yours."

"Yeah, we get it. You're a real comedian Klein." Harry One took out several [Clairvoyance Spheres], cheap, single use items that replicated the spell. Before using them he read a series of scrolls and then placed his hand on one of the orbs. It began to glitter on the inside, like sparks inside a thick fog. "Here it goes."

"T-Combo inbound!" There was an explosion, but Harry's momentary warning gave him time to activate Greater Evasion. The surroundings were bathed in ice; then flame, gouging out about 10% of his HP. Kirito got his bearings and looked around, at his fellows. Klein's group looked good, some coming away unscathed, while the rest took less damage than Kirito. The Golden Apple hadn't fared as well, but it seemed Yoko trew up a general purpose barrier nullifying some of the damage. The blast still knocked them down to the 80% zone.

"Damn Harry, what was that?"

"Sorry guys, I set up countermeasures to their anti-scrying, but they noticed them taking effect. I think they have someone manually watching the territory. Or they decided to invent some Level-6 Antiscry magic. They can't do that right?"

"Honestly wouldn't put it past them." Klein ran his hand through his hair. "Alright, that had to draw some attention. Here pass these to your crew Griselda. That was our bad. Let's secure the perimeter, but we're operating in the dark this time. Don't let them get the drop on you, but we can't go shooting our own people once they arrive. It should be a few hours at the most. Remember, don't be afraid to use items, the lower level ones especially." Klein having given out orders let everyone get to work.

They held the position for several hours before the first few squads started making their way to the gates of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. They arrived laughing, with blood stained cloaks. Laughing Coffin.

"XaXa look! Fuurinkazan!"

"Oooh, yeah it is, hey guys how's it going?" The Laughing Coffin members slammed their foreheads against some of Klein's friends who responded in kind.

"Aww, if it isn't the little assassins who couldn't. What took you so long, get distracted by some puppies you wanted to kick?"

"Kittens, actually." It went on like that for a while, only occasionally interrupted by a monster PC. Laughing Coffin might be loathed by the weak, but it seemed Klein's guild enjoyed the challenge. They couldn't really be condemned for Player Killing, since the whole crusade business was one giant player hunt. The groups loved to hate each other, and when one shoved the other into danger, they shoved right back. Kirito didn't get it.

More time went by, and eventually the tattered forms of the Knights of Blood and Holy Knights came into view. It looked like they'd already been through hell.

"Hey, what happened back there?"

"La Shub-Niggurath! The guys outside the walls were basically sacrifices!"

"Wait, the overrank spell? With the creepy sheep?" Kirito questioned. He'd fought one before, and would not want to repeat the experience. How was something that big supposed to move so fast and why did they have so many Hit Points?

"There were four of them! Those things tore through our ranks. Asuna and the Twelve Holy Knights were able to take them down, but we've already taken massive casualties."

"I hope things don't end before they've begun."

Kirito and Klein's group decided to log out to take a quick nap. Kayaba had been kind enough to end the game on a long holiday, but their minds still needed rest, and they certainly wouldn't want to be booted due to hunger in the middle of a fight. His phone rang, Argo signaling him to return to the game.

"Have a good nap Kii-bou? My scouts have reported back. It's time for you to get in there and do your stabby thing!"

"Uh-huh, got it. By the way, how many people did we lose out there?" Argo winced at the question.

"Everyone took some heavy hits. We're down to 3,000 people. Still, that ought to be more than enough with you on the front lines. Go show them who the Black Swordsman is!"

The next two days, Kirito slept in his raid schedule. Charge forward with Klein and the others for six hours, then sleep for two. It would be hell to break out of the pattern later, but right now he was in heaven. The Great Tomb of Nazarick was as imposing as all the stories. Dead ends and traps, undead that seemed to not only spawn endlessly, but all decked out in minor magic items. An absurdly large giant, a freakish lamprey...thing, Kirito ran through his potions quicker than he thought he would. There just wasn't enough time to rest so his Regeneration could kick in.

Argo's people scouted for the way to the next floor as everyone else tried to fend off the infinite hordes coming from all sides. Of course even disregarding the difficult NPCs, the biggest threat were the members of Ainz Ooal Gown. They had something that let them teleport freely inside the Tomb, opening up the crusade to sudden attacks at any moment. Being high level all the magic casters could use Overrank magic multiple times per day. Then they had to take into account there were 41 of them.

41 of the highest level players, including Touch-Me who got a special reward for being so powerful. And they were all here. The reason that the Judgment Day raid stalled was because even in their most dire straits, only a few of the Supreme Beings would be on. They had jobs after all, it was their cash items that helped them make up for the fact they couldn't play as devotedly as as some Otakus. But with the final days of Yggdrasil announced ahead of time, it seemed they all had enough vacation days to reassemble. 41 high level, cash item wielding, PCs in their own guild hall. It would be a miracle were they to succeed.

It seemed to take ages before they reached the end of the seventh floor, a lava filled hellscape. There were four hours left, but they couldn't charge ahead before healing. Grisia, the only remaining Holy Knight spent his energy healing the party which now consisted of Kirito, Asuna, three Laughing Coffin members and all, all of Fuurinkazan. Reinforcements could never make it through the rest of the Tomb in time, especially with the level penalties they'd been accruing. 16 to take down the remainder of Ainz Ooal Gown. At least the Holy Knights managed to take down two of the Supreme Beings who got too close during one of their harassment runs.

"You and your friends are very good at teamwork Klein."

"Er, thanks Asuna. We've been buddies for ages, we just learned what worked best for us. You're doing pretty well yourself. I heard you made it into the top five for a few months."

"Yeah, until Kirito here pushed me out of it."

"Hey, it was a long break and I didn't have any homework to do."

The party healed up and pushed on. Entering the Eigth floor, they came to a vast wilderness. Kirito's Intuition picked up on something, drawing his attention to what looked like an embryo with skeletal wings.

"!hctamhtaeD maaaaaeeeeeeeT" [Somebody has set you up the bomb.]

"Eh?" Kirito knew that phrase from somewhere, what was that meme from?

"Full resistances! Full resistances!" Klein and Asuna shouted. Kirito activates Warrior's Fortitude, this must be Victim, the floor guardian that inflicted massive debuffs. It didn't seem to be doing anything though. But then he hear two cries and the sound of blades clashing.

"You have no chance, make your time."

"For great justice!" XaXa and Johnny Black cackled, each swiftly moving to a second victim, chosen from among Fuurinkazan. PoH kept his own daggers locked against Klein, who managed to recognize the threat.

"You bastards..."

"Hey, I've got nothing against AoG. You guys on the other hand," Kirito and Asuna leapt into action to help Klein, quickly overwhelming Laughing Coffin's leader. "Hehe, never lost a player have you?"

"Only because you back stabbed us."

"'PKing assassin douchebags' as you say."

"Touché, you smarmy ass." Klein finished PoH off and then Johnny and XaXa. Victim just kept floating there.

"PUOS TA M'I"[All our base are belong to us.]

"We'll see about that. Look at my men!" Klein shouted to the sky, where the Supreme Beings were undoubtedly watching. "Their courage hangs by a thread. If this is to be our end, then I would have them make such an end worthy of remembrance!"

"Ride to ruin and the world's ending!" Kirito joined in.

"DEATH!"

"DEATH!"

"DEATH!"

They charged forward, surprisingly unobstructed, chanting bits and pieces of phrases, with Asuna trailing along, slightly confused. They burst into a beautiful throne room to see 20 of the Supreme Beings on either side, with one centered in the middle.

[The Goal of All Life is Death]

[Cry of the Banshee]

"Good evening Heroes. I truly commend your bravery. But we are Ainz Ooal Gown.

I have won.

Exactly as planned."

With that, Kirito felt the tug of character death pulling him back to town.

The throne room of Nazarick erupted into cheers. For over a decade, they remained indominatable in the world of Yggdrasil. They all clapped each other on the back and acted far different than proper, hardworking members of society should.

"Hahaha! Momonga, you make an excellent villain." Blue Planet said something that may have been a compliment.

"Yes, it's like we built our Great Memory Nazarick around you."

"Oh no, this was a work we all built together."

"But who was it that kept this place tidy until these last few days? We'd have nothing to come back to if not for you." Momonga had a little difficulty parsing all this praise from his dear friends. Surely they knew they too played a huge part. Touch-San at the very least needed to take some of the credit.

"Ah, we mustn't forget Touch-San. He is the one who founded Nine's Own Goal."

"I thank you for your praise, but you have grown over these many years. You've become quite the leader."

They chatted, old friends during what might be their final meeting. Then Warrior Takemikazuchi suggested they quickly revive all the guardians and reset the traps and see how much wealth they still possessed. Even in such a dire final battle, luckily for the the visual impact of their remaining funds, few of the guardians fell. Instead, most were ordered to retreat at the last moment. Alive, all it would take was a few heal spells and mana potions and they could return to the front lines.

The wealth was inspiring, though gently sloping and spread out, it surpassed the height of most of the members. Then, Bukubukuchagama placed some of her magic rings in the pile. Everyone else followed suit. To top it off, Momonga placed the guild staff near the top, like planting a flag. A wonderful, gleaming pile of treasure that surpassed even the loot found from a dragon.

The festivities were done. There was still an hour left, but there was nothing left to do. Even without a job in the morning, they were getting too old to stay up like children. So final farewells were said and despite the lack of facial expressions, Momonga almost swore he heard some watery eyes. The departure of decade long friends. One by one they all left. Touch-Me stayed behind longest.

"Ah, I'm an old man now, but I still don't want to give this up. I'm glad I chose you to lead Ainz Ooal Gown. You've brought us many happy times together."

"Thank you Touch-San. I couldn't have done all this without you and our other Friends."

"I should really be going now. Remember even if the road is harsh, there are those who will lend their sword to help."

With that Momonga, leader of Ainz Ooal Gown, was left alone with the NPCs idling in the corner. How bitter it was as the system clock ticked down.

23:57:00

At least they spent one last adventure together.

23:58:00

He couldn't ask for anything more than a guild of such good people.

23:59:00

No.

23:59:10

He definitely could wish for more.

23:59:20

He could wish for his friends to stay, to share more good times.

23:59:30

Such things were beyond his power.

23:59:40

Beyond Yggdrasil, he didn't have anything.

23:59:50

He was left alone with his memories of the times they shared.

00:00:00

Time to go back to his tiny apartment.

00:00:10

Eh?


	2. Chapter 2

Kirito, Asuna, Klein, Dale, Harry One and Issin were sprawled out in the tavern. The rest of Fuurinkazan logged out already, after seeing them return defeated and a short round of consolation. By the lack of noise around, it seemed like most of their fellow human players had done the same. The six were grumbling over their defeat, and their loss of items. Except Kirito, who they were looking at with great envy.

"If you wanted to keep your stuff on death, you should have Spirit Bound it."

"Man, those Exp penalties are crap though. And you did it twice?"

"Gear is really important to high level players." Asuna defended Kirito, which felt nice. He placed his cheek on the table feeling the slightly cool sensation, muted by the limiting processing power of the game. This world, he would miss it. Finding another game that engrossed him so much would be tough, maybe he could just play whatever Klein's group picked up. It still felt a little awkward around them, but he could solo play for the most part and just team up with them on occasion. Kirito could deal with that.

"Hey Asuna, you think maybe..." Kirito stopped mid sentence. What did he want to say? He liked her, not like, _like_ like, but spending time with her... It felt like all the servers were suddenly dedicating themselves to make him hyper aware and inflicting {Mute} and {Confusion}.

"Uh, this is the last day and uh," Damn it man, you're the Black Swordsman! You can ask for her number, wait no he can't, maybe just an email address. Just to stay in touch. So they could play together sometime. In a game, a game!

"What is it Kirito?" Aw crap, it looked like she was wise to the situation. Kirito felt the room drop 20 degrees. Wait, that was just the table.

Hold up a sec.

Kirito sat up, his subconscious thanking the universe for the distraction. Running his hand across the table, it felt much cooler and, was that texture the grain of the wood? No way. One of the worlds must have been shut down, though he didn't know Yggdrasil had dynamic memory allocation. That also would mean the texture had been there all along.

"Klein, pass me a drink."

"Need some liquid courage?" Klein laughed "Here you go buddy." Kirito caught the bottle the redhead threw overhand at him. He stared down the neck before downing it. Oh no. He felt the liquid wash into his stomach after tasting it. Both sensations illegal to implement to keep people from starving. Kirito handed off the bottle. It just so happened to be Asuna who was seated closest to him. She blushed a little.

"What are you doing? I'm not, I won't drink after you."

"Drink it!" Kirito commanded. Crap, crap, crap. He was furiously willing the command console into existence to no avail. Asuna was looking nervous as she took a sip. Her eyes widened in realization.

"Man, they must have put a heavy debuff on whatever's in that thing because you two are acting weird. You doing okay?"

"Klein. I need you not to panic. But try opening your console." Kirito kept his voice level. Calm. Cool. Collected. Klein proceeded to start freaking out.

"Kirito, do you know something I don't? Because it isn't working! Shit, are we stuck in this?"

"There's got to be a reason this is happening."

"You're right Asuna, let's think." Kirito searched his knowledge of computers "Maybe they're shutting down the server in phases? Yggdrasil had several server locations, maybe the command functions were disabled. We'll just have to wait until we're forcibly ejected when they turn off the actual world."

"How long'll that take?"

"It shouldn't take too long. Besides, your friends might come looking for you and rip that thing off your head. My brother or father can do the same for me. Do you live with someone Kirito?"

"He's got his cousin and her family. You still live with them don't you, damned NEET?"

"I go to school."

"NEET."

"That's not what that word means." Kirito sighed. At least Klein's shenanigans eased the atmosphere.

"Hey Kirito"

"Yeah Issin?"

"How does using skills tie into this theory of yours? I don't have the menu up, but if I concentrate I can definitely use Sense Heat"

"Okay, that's odd but not totally crazy. It might be, uh, the commands might still go through but the visuals and manual selection are gone." Issin furrowed his brow before a silvery dome surrounded him. The low level Repel Evil spell.

"The strangest thing is how naturally that came to me. Would the visuals for this and the HUD be stored separately?"

"Are you trying to say we're stuck here? Not cool dude!" Harry slapped the back of Issin's head.

"No, that's the right thing to do. You should try disproving your hypothesis. If you fail to disprove it, it's probably true. What? My dad made me read a lot of high brow intellectual stuff." Asuna explained under their confused stares. "Issin, you said you could detect heat? Are there other people around?"

"Yeah, they're near the edge of my range, that's around 150 meters."

"Let's go meet up with them."

Met with a vast expanse of grass and starry skies, they quickly forgot about Klein's plan. This was very clearly not the town the tavern was found in. In fact, there were no buildings before them. Okay so they weren't just waiting for the worlds to shut down.

"It uh, could be that they're keeping the data for a sequel?" Kirito suggested weakly "Like the world is just being transformed for the next game. The servers are probably optimized for Dive MMOs, so maybe they were sold to a competitor. The tavern we were in wasn't an offloaded instance so it couldn't be overwritten. That makes a lot of sense." As Kirito spoke, he convinced himself and the others. The explanation he gave was quite reasonable, and they were relieved to know what was going on. Keeping everyone from panicking at the change in surroundings, they began paying attention to the surroundings themselves.

There were mountains rising beyond the forest in the distance far ahead of the tavern. A well worn dirt road was to their right, and following it led to a city with massive walls. From what they could tell it had three tiers, looking like one of the simpler cities of Yggdrasil but by no means was it not imposing. It's just that after assaulting Nazarick, architecture usually diminished in comparison. It sat around the distance Issin stated, so it loomed behind the bar.

"Should we go over there?" Harry asked

"Man, this is too much to handle right now. Let's head to the inn to keep it from offloading. The devs should notice that after a while. I wanna relax, this is too stressful." Klein complained. He had a point.

"Let's wait until daylight and then set out. You can calm down and then we can spend our time occupying ourselves until we're taken out of this place."

Kirito and Klein and Co. agreed retreating back inside. He felt unusually drowsy, usually the game would kick you if your mind felt tired. Kirito wondered what dreams were like in the Dive system.

Not much different then real life, because the swordsman awoke with a vague recollection that things happened, but couldn't recall what they were. The similarity made sense, since dreams were purely mental that were hardly influenced by surroundings. There was a loud knocking at the door, with a booming voice.

"Open up, in the name of King Ranpossa the Third!"

"Shit, an event? Whyyy? There can't be any players here yet!" Klein whined, slowly rousing from atop a table he'd used as a pillow.

"I'll get it." Asuna rubbed her eyes as she emerged from the back room, but otherwise looked pristine.

"Wait up." Kirito raised a hand, as the knocking continued. What if this game was different? He drew his sword and placed the edge on the back of his hand.

"Kirito what are you..." Even though it was a game, it went against his instinct. Doubly so if he was right. Before he stopped himself, he drew the blade across his hand. Through gritted teeth he groaned in pain, dropping his sword and clutching the vessels at his wrist. The a line of blood slowly formed. Wait, skills worked, Regeneration! The cut almost instantly vanished.

"What the hell was that?" Asuna stormed up to him.

"Pain is ramped up. If we, the server could be," Kirito took a deep breath. This was computer stuff. He could do computer stuff, simple, easy peasy. "This might be a role-playing server, with punishments for acting OOC. With the pain ramped up, injuries and death could have serious consequences. When you answer the door, slowly work game terms in." Kirito collapsed onto the padded booth next to Klein. Ugh, the things he did.

"Just don't go doing stuff like that Kirito." Asuna looked a little upset with his rash action. He felt a bit upset too, but the knocking was turning to pounding.

"We can hear you in there! If you are plotting escape, there are several squads surrounding this building. Now come out and show yourselves!"

Asuna opened the door to an armored man, textbook guard NPC, equipment so crappy an Orc could kill him and wearing a frumpy look on his face.

"How may I help you sir? I fear we were up rather late and needed to prepare ourselves for visitors."

"From where do you hail and how did this building get here?"

"Ja-" she turned back to him and Klein.

"Yggdrasil."

"Helheim?"

"Klein! Helhiem is terrible in like, all of its interpretations. Besides, we're 'from' Midgard." Kirito hissed. The guard only started to look more and more suspicious and Asuna quickly tried shoehorning it all together.

"Ah, what they mean is that we are from the nation of Midgard. We last found ourselves in Helheim. Both of which are in Yggdrasil?" She finished sheepishly.

"I've not heard of these places. I suggest you start telling the truth."

"Well you see, we were in the middle of a...transition I guess? It seems a mistake was made and now we've ended up here."

"A mistake? A mistake takes you and your horse North instead of South. A mistake does not take you and your house to an unheard of country." Issin mouthed to the group from outside the guard's field of view. 'They're moving in.' Kirito activated his abilities. Like Issin said, it felt very natural. Klein did the same, but seemed to be having a more difficult time. He was trying to keep it subtle, to be ready for hostility without provoking them.

"Could you tell us where we are? Are you perhaps an NPC?" Ooh, well done Asuna! Very naturally working that in, a player would react and an NPC could alert the system. Wait, no, he didn't want Asuna to face the wrath of the system overlords!

"A what? You are in the glorious kingdom of Re-Estize! You foreigners are going to need to come under the custody of the law." But it seems all that happened was he thought it to be another nationality. Okay, metagame talk was in, but useless to the NPCs. Well in that case he could ignore this automated scrub. He did have to compliment the AI system though.

"Looks like there isn't much point talking to him. Should we go, because I mean we'll need to leave this place but if there are GMs they might notice some of the flags we trip or something along those lines."

"Kirito! He's right in front of me!"

"Asuna, he's an NPC. He doesn't get what we're talking about. He's just trying to retrieve us." The guards face continued looking furious.

"Hmm, I don't really fancy a night in the medieval slammer. Hear they got rats."

"We could give Kirito and Asuna some private time together." Issin wiggled his eyebrows, giving both of them the shivers.

"Hey, you, I'm not..." Issin struck his weak point for massive damage! Asuna faired slightly better, huffing before making a complete sentence.

"Alright, we'll go with him. You keep this place out of trouble. Don't anger anyone either. Let's go Kirito."

"Alas, we have been captured by the Knights of RestEasy! Take us to be judged Knight-Captain-San." Kirito held out his arms at chest level to await a pair of manacles. Klein smirked and he noticed Asuna grin. Heh. He was so clever.

"Are you mocking me?"

"Wow this guy's AI is really good. This is probably why Yggdrasil was kicked to the curb. No sir, just please, please let our good friends stay here. They are too ill and addled from our journey to take any more chaos." Klein threw in a few pitiful coughs for effect.

The Captain motioned for a few squads to remain stationed outside the entrance. Clapping some irons around Kirito and Asuna he began escorting them away. There were 10 guards other than the captain, the grunts sending them curious looks. Asuna smiled nervously at them.

"Kirito." She whispered.

"Sup?"

"I uh...broke the cuffs." What? Kirito shifted his wrists and quickly felt the metal deform. Oh man. The new server must be using the human value range for materials. With players with the strength to physically beat down World Class monsters, all materials in the world were scaled up accordingly. Otherwise the bones of large creatures would crack under their own weight. It seemed their super stats remained at the same value while the world around them turned out to be a city of styrofoam. It must be worse for Asuna, he favored agility even more than she did.

"Try not to run into anything." Repair. He picked that magic up when traveling around in acid slime territory. Not wanting to spend cash, it already came with his Spirit Weapon User class. It had been a while since he'd gotten to use it though.

"What was that light?"

"That's called a firefly. They come out during the day too y'know."

"Kirito!" Yeah, he probably shouldn't have said that. At least not so loud Captain could hear him. Things were a bit stressful though. A good amount of tall, dark and snarky helped with that. He just had to imagine he was taller.

"I don't think there's going to be anything more pleasurable than putting you in your place."

"Hey, I'm a piiiii- Never mind, sorry sir!" Remembering Asuna's presence at his side, he aborted his retort and switched to a high pitched apology. They resumed marching and entered through the city gates.

"You're a _what_ now?"

"Nothing!"

The inside of the city was nothing impressive to the travelers of Yggdrasil. It looked fairly well off, but whatever. They were not taken into the second ring of the city. Huh, Kirito thought things would get more military further in. Oh well. Instead they were lead into a jailblock and placed in adjacent cells.

"Nice place. A lot less straw then I expected actually. So when do we get to chat with the king or mayor or duke or whoever?"

"You'll be speaking with the constable when he gets to you." The captain turned around "I'll be putting in a few words about you before hand."

"So can I use you as a reference on my résumé then?" Kirito asked to his back.

"Kirito."

"Sup?" A small chunk of stone she grabbed off the wall nailed him in the head, exploding like a clod of dirt. "Hey! What was that for?"

"Even if they are NPCs, haven't you heard of Relationship Points? What if you pissed him off so much that now he hates us?"

"Eh, we're getting out of here in a few days. Might as well try screwing up some stuff to get back at those negligent coders."

* * *

"What are your suspicions?" Marc Louvre asked The Captain. In charge of keeping the peace, his brother was a successful merchant, leaving him with a portly stomach resembling his elder sibling's. The tale of a tavern suddenly appearing was definitely strange. His first two thoughts were it was either a facade or summoned by magic. With the Captain reporting a fully furnished interior, that left magic. But such a thing would take dozens of casters and a lengthy ritual. What benefit was there to that? Apparently they claimed to have arrived by mistake, could they have been heading to their alleged home 'Midgard'? No this still required them to use magic, besides a country that could use magic to travel was too powerful for rumors not to have spread.

Magic or no, they were illegally in the area surrounding E-Rantel. The difficulty would be in how harshly to sentence them, and if they were spies of some sort, then to detain them. Which was why he felt it so important to get the captain's opinion.

"I'd like to say they're spies, but they would be too blatant for that. Instead adventurers or mercenaries are a better description; they're more likely to be mercenaries."

"What makes you say that?"

"Both their disrespect for figures of authority and the way they spoke of 'Yggdrasil'"

"The area that contained the alleged nations Midgard and Helheim."

"So they say. They referenced it as though it were destroyed, but didn't seem very upset. Not being old enough for it to have been a long time ago, I suspect they had few ties in the land and after a war they left."

"This makes sense, but is also presupposing the existence of such states."

"I don't see any other reason to claim such absurd things other than that they are foreigners. They certainly look strange at the very least." The constable reclined in his seat, pondering what to do. Ah, he had an idea!

"Captain, haven't we been having problems with monsters lately?"

* * *

"Mercenaries? Sure I guess we are. I mean we do stuff for money, lot times it is killing monsters so yeah."

"In that case you will be doing service for the Kingdom as reparations. You will be registered with the Adventurer's Guild and take on jobs with the proceeds going to the government. When you've paid off your debt, we will allow you to go on your way. There will be a minimum quota of work you have to do, so no slacking off."

With that a nameless guard was asked to escort them to the Adventurer's Guild. To Kirito it didn't seem like it would be filled with adventure, the front looked more like a bank. Yggdrasil spoiled its players with buildings that matched what they 'should' be, no matter how impossible. He never did figure out how the dwarvern kingdoms moved around such large golems. Sir Unimportant explained to the desk jockey they were working off a debt to the government. Wasn't this all a little extraneous? Immersion was important, but did he really need to fill out a form?

"I can't believe this. Bring back 10 goblin ears?"

"Do you really have to complain so much?"

"It's just...I guess not." Kirito shut up, this did mean hanging out with Asuna. Usually when they partied up they were facing something far too big for idle chitchat. They definitely didn't need Klein for this either. He'd only be missing out on 20 exp at the most anyhow. They'd pick him up on their way back. Not wanting to waste too much time, he grabbed a few other goblin hunting requests.

"Which way to...Tob Forest? Is that the one to the north or west?"

"The North. Are you sure you can handle that many goblins?"

"No worries, you just keep to the side and stay shiny."

Kirito was starting to get sick of Mr. Shiny. Were you hit with a {Slow} or {Paralysis}? He could probably lay on the ground and roll there faster. Instead he made the best of his time and tried talking to Asuna.

"So, how do think this game plays? I mean how do you like it?"

"It all seems quite realistic. There's something missing though." Probably thousands of players trying to be as bombastic as possible. Instead they spent 20 minutes filling out forms to go kill a dozen or so goblins.

"Uh huh, I get that."

"It's very beautiful. Not like Yggdrasil, the land here is much more peaceful."

"A bit mundane maybe?"

"There's nothing wrong with that."

Kirito and Asuna talked, paying no mind to Mr. Shiny. The NPC was dutifully following them to their destination. Kirito felt his stomach rumble. That unsettled the peaceful journey for him. The Dive System couldn't simulate or sate hunger, nor were any programs supposed to. Outside tasteless replicas, creating in game food was illegal, not to mention how much extra data that would take for such small benefits. He hoped his body wasn't starting to get hungry.

Uneasily continuing on, Asuna didn't seem to notice. He hoped she wouldn't, he didn't want the others worrying over him. Other than his slight internal turmoil, they reached the edge of the forest with the sun a few hours away from dark.

"I think we should be careful. The woods are dangerous at night." Asuna spared only a quick glance over to their escort.

"He sounds pretty concerned Kirito."

"Well unless he's one hell of an actor, that's an NPC. It's just the general 'Be careful, don't let the boogeyman get you' line. Besides we're hunting goblins, this is a starter zone."

"You're a lot better with words when it comes to gaming and computer."

"It's stuff I know stuff about, not meatspace people conversing."

"See? Doing it again." Kirito looked at the grass and dirt, averting his eyes. No he wasn't good talking about non-gaming things. People could react weirdly, it was best to just keep it mellow and let them hear what they want if you don't know what you're talking about.

"Let's just get this over with."

* * *

Parlston didn't like these two. He thought it would be interesting to get to know the strange foreigners, but they didn't seem interested in talking to him. In fact, it was like his existence didn't register with them. They called him an Enpecee, which the way the dark haired 'Kirito' said it sounded like he was talking about a boulder on the side of the road. The brown haired 'Asuna' seemed like she tried to make him act nicer, but she too didn't seem to put much importance on the matter.

They were young, so he gave them one final warning when they reached the edge of the forest, but the cocky brats ignored him. Fine. If they died, it wouldn't be on his head. The Captain already seemed displeased with them. He would understand they'd gone off on their own and gotten themselves killed.

They said planned with each other to come back in 5 minutes with whatever they'd gotten to talk about what they'd found. As if Parlston hadn't been standing there the whole time, the boy-brat told him they were leaving and would return in 5 minutes. The guard was about to curse them when they vanished.

Not exactly, his eyes strained to keep up, but the two ran fast enough that he had only a few seconds before they disappeared into the forest. Were they actually skilled adventurers? Even so, they were still risking themselves splitting up. After all, many high ranked parties attributed their success to teamwork. Going it alone would just put them in danger. Well it didn't matter to him, impressive speed was one thing, but could they use their swords?

Yes they could.

* * *

"Looks like he fainted. Wonder why."

"It may have something to do with your new 'pet'."

"His name is Kiba."

"The 'Lone Wolf' theme is overdone."

"Soooorrryy. He just took a liking to me."

"He's biting your arm."

"Doesn't hurt."

"You're keeping him in a headlock so he doesn't escape."

"Details. Now let's get these ears back to the guild. I really want to do something more interesting than this."

AN: Addressing some comments from the last chapter Kirito is still silly strong. It's just Ainz Ooal Gown is THE dungeon.

That's not the reason I had him take down a warg though, I just wanted him to surprise Mr. Shiny

Nazarick coming soon maybe. Until Momonga heads to E-Rantel, I haven't thought of anything I really wanted to change. Also he spends three days inside Nazarick getting his bearings before saving Carne village. But Momonga-San will make an appearance soon I hope!


	3. Chapter 3

Left back at the tavern, Klein and Co. were having a blast with the guards who stayed behind. With their boss out of the way, they came inside to have a seat. A lot livelier than the Yggdrasil NPCs, they offered to play a game of cards. Fuurinkazan obliged, more than happy to distract themselves.

"When do you think we'll be pulled out?" Harry One asked.

"It'll probably be a day or two. We told people we knew we were in a raid event right? They probably just think it's going on longer than usual." Klein tried staying optimistic about things. Their families would have to watch their bodies constantly to figure out they were stuck in here. After all, during the three days of the raid they'd been waking up for only a few hours at a time to take care of the biological needs before jumping back in. If their bodies weren't under watch their families may have been under the impression they were just getting up when no one else was around. Just gotta stay optimistic, Klein. Everything would work out okay, he had Harry and Issin as well as Kirito and Asuna. They could make it through this.

"How big do you think this place is? I mean, Yggdrasil was huge. Do you think this place is just as big?"

"We've got an NPC right here we could ask." Klein turned to the guard playing with them, structuring his sentence simply. Even if the AI was leagues beyond that in Yggdrasil, it probably had some limits. "Tell us about our surroundings."

"You guys must have traveled quite a way. Never heard of Yggdrasil myself, but I'm no scholar. We're near the southern border of the Re-Estize kingdom, which is the greatest of the three nations of the world."

"What are the three nations of the world?"

"Ah the other two are the Slane Theocracy and the Baharuth Empire."

"Which one are you at war with? It's the empire isn't it?"

"I thought you didn't know about the surroundings?"

"Called it!" Issin held up a hand for a high five, which Klein obliged. Having a kingdom and an empire at war with each other was a bit of a cliche. Still, the world wasn't so uncomfortable that they couldn't wait a day or two before being freed. They just needed to keep themselves occupied.

They drank alongside the guards, wasting time until their friends came back. The sun had just about reached the horizon when he heard a noise like a large dog whimpering. Asuna carried a guard over her shoulder while Kirito was wrestling what looked like a dire wolf.

"What are you doing? I thought things could hurt now!" Klein started freaking out and rushed over to help Kirito.

"Ah, don't sweat it. Kiba is level 20 or 30 at most. Can't even scratch me. Can you boy? Who's a good boy?" The wolf looked absolutely terrified of Kirito, who was rubbing its head. Klein switched from fearing to pitying the creature who had probably began its day as a predator and was now a pet. There were some shouts from behind, the guards were starting to panic. Looked like Kirito was thoughtlessly causing a commotion. He couldn't help but crack a smile.

"That's a warg!"

"Everyone get your weapons!"

Huh. These NPCs seemed pretty serious about trying to take out the creature. Before they could kill Kirito's beloved new pet, he tried to figure out why.

"Calm down, are wild animals not allowed here? Has it been raiding farm animals?"

"That's a warg! They're incredibly strong and dangerous, we have to kill it before it starts wreaking havoc."

"I dunno, looks like Kirito had it under control." This power discrepancy felt weird. Like running through a tutorial at max level, the threats seemed inconsequential. Even if they were supposed to kill the creature, they didn't have to did they? With the power they had, they may as well just ignore proper plot progression and keep it as a pet.

The way the town guards were shaking in their boots made him a bit uncomfortable though. NPC or no, it seemed realistic, and that was all it really took for him to feel bad for them. Klein hated stories with Bad Ends, and this felt like that, a disregard for the feelings of the side characters.

"Kirito, do you think you could put it on a leash or something?"

"Oh yeah, let me just pull a leash out of my backpack. Oh wait, I don't that's one! That's why I had to drag Kiba here!"

"Don't you have something in your inventory? You always were a pack rat."

"Sure, let me just reach into my pocket and pull out..." Kirito mockingly stuck one of his hands into his trademark black coat. His hand went in farther then the depth of the coat should have allowed. "Huh. It seems like the [Deep Pockets] enhancement can still work. Did you guys have something like that?"

Klein hadn't thought of trying anything other than a few skills. While he lost a lot of his gear inside Nazarick he had a few Bound to Account items. How was he supposed to get them though? There was no interface. Maybe he just had to think he could. Believe it!

He quite naturally moved his arms to his waist, pulling out a cash item [Hammer of Eternity]. It would fully repair and buff any armor it was used on, but was a consumable. Not liking to spend money on virtual expendables, he hadn't used it. Holding it in his hand, Klein had a feeling that if he discarded it, it would disappear forever. On the other hand, he seemed to be able to return it to the...hammerspace from whence it came. Pretty neat.

From his [Deep Pockets], Kirito withdrew a [Magic Chain], a thin silvery cord that made the bound one obey the orders of the owner. It was a mid-high level artifact, and Klein cringed as it was used on such a wimpy creature. Even if they were only going to be here a little while longer, what a waste!

With that taken care of, Kirito leashed Kiba to one of the posts on the porch of the tavern and they all returned indoors, the guards more hurriedly than the rest of them. Kirito and Asuna took turns telling him about how they were going to be adventurers to pay off their debt. Asuna didn't want to make any waves and was willing to go along with it. Kirito on the other hand initially thought it would be a fun way to kill time, but after taking a whole five minutes to collect enough goblin ears for several quests, he'd already gotten sick of it.

"Screw this, we're only here a few more days. Let's go do what we want to, I want to mess this setting up."

"That's not a very nice thing to do. The developers worked hard on making something this complicated."

"Not hard enough to keep us from getting trapped in it." Oh Kirito, the only time you could speak clearly with Asuna was when you were arguing or talking about computers. You really need to man up.

"Okay, so it sounds like the adventuring stuff is all really low level. Maybe we could just Leeroy Jenkins straight to high level zones? It might be dangerous, but it seems like the power scaling on this server is really low in comparison to Yggdrasil. We shouldn't get into too much trouble just running out there."

"Can we at least vandalize some stuff on the way?"

"Jesus Kirito, were you always such a griefer?"

"Only when people piss me off."

Successfully convincing Klein, Issin and Harry One followed along. Kirito did a little fist pump. He didn't usually feel a lot of malice, even towards PKrs like Laughing Coffin because it was just a game. Still a game, he was now _for real_ stuck in here, if only temporarily. So now it was time to go 'Humanoid Typhoon', rack up a $$60 billion bounty and have a good time.

"Watch the shop for us, will ya?" Kirito called back as they left. The guards were wholly incapable of stopping them and they started jogging towards E-Rantel.

"Kirito, where are we headed?"

"You said something about a kingdom of dragons right?"

"Dragonic Kingdom, to the southwest. Past a field of undead. But that's dozens of miles man!"

"Not for me!" Kirito laughed and started picking up the pace. He was gaining distance until Harry One cast some movement magic on them. For himself he cast Fly. Looking like they'd make good time, he drew his swords as they approached E-Rantel. Regeneration, Intuition, Resistance, Momentum, he piled on skills as he bore down on the city.

"Kirito, what do you think you're doing?" He heard Asuna call. He didn't mind her, he needed to cut loose a little. Playing seriously for so long, it was great being incredibly effective. Now Kirito wanted a Final Hurrah, to just burn something to the ground. Usually an explorer, sometimes you just want to watch the world burn.

Swords at the ready, he slashed through the banded wooden gates. He winced a little, but it offered so little resistance he relaxed. Another building right in front of him, stone. The divine class swords paid no heed to the fact and the structure was sliced to ruins. Running ahead, he heard the collapse behind him. Ahh. Now he decided on adding some jumps to his routine, his body cannonballed through even stone buildings. It hurt, but only so much as stubbing your toe pretty badly. The effects of Regeneration eliminated the accumulation of scratch damage and before he knew it, he was emerging out the other side of the city. The others took a detour around the city, but not smashing through stone walls meant they kept up with him.

"Dude, you're like my little cousin who just loves to knock over the block towers her brother makes." Klein mildly chastised him, but they all kept running. It may have been a bit juvenile, but it was just a game, and games were meant to be fun.

Chunks of masonry filled the streets, and the sounds of buildings slowly crumbling filled E-Rantel. Smoke was beginning to rise from the wooden houses that had parts of themselves fall into their fireplaces and where lanterns fell onto flammable cloths. A line of devastation divided the city, mostly straight but not quite evenly bisecting the city.

"What happened here?" Panasolei commanded, the Mayor's commanding tone totally at odds with his blubbery appearance. "Guards, find me anyone in charge of anything, and bring them here on the double! Have Guildmaster Ainzach brought here immediately!" This was no time for putzing about with his act of incompetency. The level of destruction that had happened needed adventurers, and high level ones. Whatever it was couldn't wait for the King.

"Mayor, what is going on?" Pluton asked, fully armored as he approached. As a former adventurer himself, he had a great amount of practice and had surely lived through many emergencies. But had any been so dire as this?

"Pluton, good to see you're at the ready. Luckily whatever happened didn't cut through the cemetery, but the damage to the walls is quite grave. I'd like you to utilize your authority to mobilize the adventurers to help guard the city and investigate. Appropriate compensation an be discussed after the matter is brought under control."

"That is understandable. Do you have any information on what occurred?"

"Only rumors that a human sized creature was seen charging through town as fast as the eye could follow. There is nothing other than damage from it colliding with buildings and what look to be slashes by extremely sharp blades."

"Hmm, then it may be a new type of monster. I'll tell the adventurers it hasn't been seen using magic yet, but to still be careful. It also seems as though regular armor might not be helpful. Very well, I'll do what I can, we'll speak later."

What had just happened to the city? What sort of monster could be capable of such a feat? E-Rantel would have to be on its guard, they were vulnerable now.

Having placed so many of their attribute points into physical stats, the Kirito and friends were able to run straight through dawn. Klein actually stumbled a bit, the monotony of it all putting him to sleep. Kirito and Harry One played a game, where Harry shot a spell and Kirito tried outrunning it. It was surprising, while most other things from Yggdrasil were preserved, Kirito could actually outrun spell casting now. The spell hadn't gotten slower, but it seemed that the cap on how much speed agility would give you was removed. Mostly that was because human minds only could work so fast, and the game couldn't slow down for one person without making it seem like time slowed down for everyone. It seemed like with the extra processing power of the servers, Kirito could react and move his body faster. He didn't seem to have hyper thought processing, maybe he should have put some points into intelligence.

They got to the undead fields, which were about as threatening as the rest of the world, that is, not very. Everyone just stormed through the plains, laughing at the level 5-10 skeletons. Klein, again zoning out, ran right through one, turning it into a pile of dust. Now it was a competition to see who could bulldoze the most undead. 1 point for skeletons and 5 for zombies. Kirito was the first to try running through a zombie, but with the realistic insides and terrible smell, it almost made him want to puke. It was like running through a water balloon made of slime. Hence the high point value.

Distracted and having fun. They weren't really worried about getting to the Draconic Empire. This was all just to have a good time while they waited, so they zig zagged back and forth across the Katze plains. Kirito liked spending time with people like this, just messing around. He still wasn't there by choice but this was a good game, at least the way they played it was.

AN: I plan on releasing a chapter maybe 5-7 days a week, no matter how short or long and I may have gotten distracted doing research(rereading&watching Overlord). I'm not proofreading this or anything, but I will clarify stuff if there are questions. I do have an idea as to where this is going.

Apparently when I copy this over to FF the '' symbols I use for skills disappear. I'm using the greater/less than symbols since they probably won't show up. This is all done on my phone so not gonna bother fixing it.

As for the story, Kirito still thinks it's a game and is blowing off some steam. The others don't mind because it's just a game. Apparently Kirito in SAO is a little more coolheaded, so think of him as a bit closer to the abridged Kirito.

For them breaking stuff easily, Momonga counted as ridiculously strong as a level 100 caster. The level system here will be a bit different, so Kirito and co are about the same level and actually put points into strength. They probably can't actually barge through a stone wall without using skills, but snapping metal might be akin to breaking a tree branch for them.

This AN is getting long. Ask questions if you have them.


	4. Chapter 4

"What's wrong Chief?"

"Oh Ainz-sama, it appears there are mounted warriors approaching us."

"I see, leave it to me. I shall meet them with the chief. The rest of you take shelter."

Momonga, no he was Ainz from now on, watched as about two dozen warriors rode towards Carne Village. He noticed their equipment was mismatched, they seemed more ill-equipped than the knights that had attacked the village. The leader came to the front, a muscular looking man.

"I am Warrior-Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Gazef Stronoff. I have come to eliminate the knights who have been harassing the outlying villages. Who is this man with you, village elder?" Ahh, he certainly must look strange wearing the [Mask of Jealousy]. It was a very suspicious looking item.

"My name is Ainz Ooal Gown, I am a magic caster. I came across this village while it was under attack and stepped in to save them."

"Then I graciously thank you for your service... However..." The Warrior-Captain looked thankful at first but then seemed to have remembered something distasteful "if you were able to subdue an entire group of enemy knights, you must be quite powerful. Do you have any relation to the events that occurred at E-Rantel two nights ago?" Though he kept the wording vague, it was clear that whatever had transpired had been negative. Perhaps he was under suspicion, but considering he had no knowledge of what had occurred, Ainz needed to tread carefully to preserve his image. Luckily the story he told the village elder applied nicely to this situation as well.

"I fear I have spent a great many year isolated from the world researching magic. I do not recall this city of E-Rantel, nor have I heard of any events that have transpired involving it."

"I see. If that truly is the case, I am sorry for questioning the savior of this village."

"It is understandable. I wish you the best in your investigation." Ainz didn't want to push too far. Appearing nosy might be a bad idea, learning more later was always an option. He would have to be cautious during his visit to the city.

"Warrior-Captain! There's a group of people surrounding the village!"

Too easy. Defeating what they called the most powerful angel had simply been too easy. Ainz would not grow complacent, there was always the possibility those casters from the Slane Theocracy were ignorant of the true powers in this world. From the brief questioning they went through revealed they did not lead the attack on the city of E-Rantel. When hearing of the news, they continued their hunt of Gazef, in hopes to weaken the kingdom even further. The information was suspect at the moment, but Neuronist would be able to extract the truth from them.

The details he gathered from the members of the Sunlight Scripture was unnerving. Apparently E-Rantel was some sort of fortress and whatever had happened cut a line through the city. Ainz would need to investigate with all haste if whatever caused this could be a threat to Nazarick as well. Therefore, immediately after giving his regards to Gazef, he teleported back to Nazarick once he left the village's sight.

He needed to act swiftly, but it could be dangerous, he needed to act with prudence. Calling for Demiurge to discuss his plans, he wondered if the demon could think of an appropriate aide to travel with him.

"You have called for me, Ainz-sama." Demiurge bowed deeply. In a fine suit and able to present such dignified deference, Ainz's past self as a salaryman felt a bit jealous.

"Rise Demiurge. On my excursion I have learned that an unknown force caused destruction in a nearby town. I planned to venture out in time, but action must be taken now in case it poses a threat to Nazarick or its inhabitants. You have been called to suggest who I should take with me on my journey."

"Is this not a task that your faithful servants can undertake? There is no need for you to put yourself into danger Ainz-sama."

"I understand your concern, but I must do this myself. To blindly lead from inside these halls could put us all in danger."

"In that case, please take Albedo with you. She is one of our strongest, and we would be most at ease if you were to take her with you."

"No Demiurge, as she is leader of the Floor Guardians she will need to help oversee Nazarick in my absence. Whoever accompanies me we also need to be seen as human, we can not risk an illusion being dispelled."

"Forgive me for my misunderstanding! In that case, perhaps the Pleiades should suffice. Please take at least two with you, we are able to function without them, but we must not let you come to any harm. Gamma and The Lastborn are the ones I would recommend most highly."

"Aureole, huh." The Lastborn of the Pleiades, and the only human in Nazarick. It may be beneficial to take along an actual human to help smooth things along. Wait, he was a human. He shook his head.

"Very well then Demiurge, I shall take Narberal Gamma and Aureole Omega with me. Inform them that we shall depart tomorrow at dawn, and I wish them to be inconspicuous in human company."

"As you desire, Ainz-sama."

Narberal and Aureole were both quite powerful. He'd considered bringing Pandora's actor but the shame would have been to great. No, his own creation needed to continue guarding the treasury where the Staff of Aainz Ooal Gown would be kept. While it did pain him to deprive Nazarick of two capable warriors he agreed with Demiurge's assessment. Destruction of this level seemed like it could be on par with a high level player.

As such, even though he needed to rush things, he would not be going in blind. Without the need to sleep, Ainz began preparing, first starting with the [Mirror of Remote Viewing]. It took him a while to correctly find the city of E-Rantel, but upon observing it, he found his worries justified. While not at the level of a high-tiered destructive magic, it was a great deal of damage for mere physical attacks. Using a combination of long range viewing items and magic detection, he confirmed that the damage to the city had not been caused by magic at all. These items could not detect the use of skills on the other hand, so he would be unable to confirm that a Yggdrasil player was the one who had done this. While he couldn't discern a motive a player would have to scar a town, that didn't mean that there wasn't one.

It could be a monster or attack from this world, but that was not nearly as worrisome as if it were to be a player. Players would be aware of his limits and potential weaknesses, and knowledge was power. Ainz still wanted to get into contact with players from the Old World, but what if they were hostile? How would he deal with them if they were like Laughing Coffin? Before today he never thought of killing anyone, but even if he told himself he didn't want it to come to that, he felt he would if they posed a danger to Nazarick.

Ainz would not let that happen. The Great Tomb of Nazarick and all its occupants were the memories he shared with his dear friends. He would allow nothing to ruin them, not even another player.

AN: Had real people stuff to do today. Have this tiny chapter of Ainz.

EDIT:Page Breaks and giving The Lastborn her proper name. I got the Omega part right tho :/


	5. Chapter 5

"Remember, you are to address me Momon while we are in the city."

"Yes Momon-sama." Ainz put his hands to his helm. How many times did he have to explain this to her?

"Nabe, we are going undercover as normal adventurers. You are to refer to me as Momon. There is no need to add sama, it would draw undue attention to us."

"Yes Momon-saaan." Narberal barely caught herself, it would have to do. He wondered if these two really were the best choice to bring into the city. Ainz, Narberal and Aureole approached the gates of E-Rantel on foot, after teleporting in out of the city's sight. They came from the east, according to the chief of Carne Village adventurers were not respected in the Baharuth Empire. They wouldn't mention it unless necessary, but their cover was they left to become adventurers in Re-Estize.

From the side, they could see a rather long line forming. It would seem that there were inspections being done on those entering the city. The delay would be troublesome, but the obviousness meant it would be easier to ask questions as a newcomer without tarnishing his reputation before it began.

"These lowly fleas dare block our way into the city?"

"What did you say, Nabe?"

"I apologize Aureole, but humans..." Wh-what was with this hostility towards humans? In the presence of her human senior, no less! Aureole kept a cheery face up, but like all the members of Nazarick it held a steely gaze underneath. She at least had the grace not to go on to create a scene.

"It's no problem Nabe. I am unlike these weak humans, an insult to them does not touch me." Not just one but two? Was choosing these two really the best decision? Now was too late to turn back though, they were at the entrance to E-Rantel.

"Hmm, state your business."

"I am Momon. These are my companions, Nabe and Role. We have come to register as adventurers."

"I see...well I shall inform you that a curfew is in effect. The gates to the city will close one hour after sundown, so if you are out on any requests, you can't come back inside between that time and dawn. Since it looks like you have some good gear, I'll tell you that if you rank Silver or above you might end up conscripted into helping guard the breach."

"I understand, thank you for the information."

The trio headed through the streets, Ainz guiding them towards the destroyed areas. He wanted to investigate as thoroughly as possible before any clues were destroyed. There were already teams working on breaking down large chunks of masonry, is seemed most of the smaller debris had already been cleared away. Surreptitiously glancing at the boulders from the wall, it seemed the damage moved from north to south. They also possessed but one clean-cut face, or two like the corner of an X. Whatever did this used a powerful blade to soften up the wall before charging through.

Ainz did not tarry, he could try to investigate more later. Now was his debut, the creation of the foothold from which he would gather more information in the future. Passing into the second zone of the city, he found the Adventurer's Guild. The atmosphere seemed quite high end, despite the nature of the establishment. He went up to the clerk.

"Good morning, my companions and I are here to register as adventurers."

"Ah what timing, we could use more hands." The lady behind the counter looked relieved. "Luckily for you, due to the disaster that has befallen our city, the Guildmaster has waived the registration fees. There is quite a great deal that needs to be done, so you will be able to get to work quite quickly. Tell me your names and your class." She pulled out several sheets and readied a pen.

My name is Momon, I am a warrior."

"Do you have any experience?" Hmm, how should he answer that? He estimated that his strength probably put him around level 30, but he didn't have any skill in swordsmanship. There weren't many points for comparison between the two, from what he learned beginner adventurers were under level 10. It would be too suspicious for him to say something and then display strength far beyond that, people could only be so humble.

"We can easily defeat ogres." Was the phrase he settled on. Ogres were prevalent enough to be common encounters, it would not be strange for that to be the most difficult thing they fought. Though the lack of reaction from the clerk suggested he aimed a little too low. Should he have named one of the creatures that Aura found in the forest? It was too late now. Narberal and Aureole introduced themselves.

"I am Nabe, I am an offensive magic caster."

"My name is Role and I use support magic."

"Two magic casters? Well, if you make up for each other's weaknesses it makes sense, but it's still a rarity. I would suggest you find someone like a ranger to help with your non-combat skills, but other than that, you should do fine." She gave them the name of an inn where they would find adventurers around their level to help fill out the gaps in their party. She also told them that a large amount of money had been allocated to the rewards for killing monsters in the surrounding areas.

With their copper plates, the newly minted adventurers left the guild to the inn suggested by the lady. Narberal did not understand why this course of action was necessary.

"Nabe, do you not remember why we are adventurers? Those with of the Adamantite class are respected and can make powerful connections. It will be much easier to attain information once we reach that rank."

"If we take worms with us won't that only slow us down?"

"Ah, I get it! He wants to show these worthless people just how strong he is."

"Indeed, and for that we will need others to spread stories about our exploits." Well at least one of them understood. It might be tough getting three people to merge with an existing team, but the best way to spread rumors would be to group up with others temporarily. That way, after separating they would still be a legitimate group of adventurers that could praise them. Ainz planned to repeat this process until gathering a suitable amount of renown.

Upon entering the dingy inn, it became clear this would be a difficult task. The Copper and Iron plates here, they simply looked too unreliable! They'd get more fame hunting down brigands than by being associated with these folks. Would it be better to just set out monster hunting alone? No, unless they returned with something like a rare spawn or miniboss there would be absolutely no recognition in this. Oh, perhaps he could get Aura to send a beast to fight him! No, that was no good, anyone could finish off a dying creature. Ainz was shaking his head when there came a clatter.

"Why are you looking at us like that? Are you little weaklings jealous?" Aureole was confronting a table of adventurers who had been staring at them. Why did so many NPCs of Nazarick have such a personality, weren't their creators humans too?

"Ehhh? Whose the weakling, you Copper plate? You're just some unblooded girl with a pretty face."

"A puny thing like you doesn't understand strength."

"Role, calm yourself." This was getting out of hand, he didn't want their reputation to start as being troublemakers, that sort of thing would definitely haunt them. Ainz turned to the Iron plates, hopefully he could smooth this over. "I hope you can forgive her, she is quite impulsive at times."

"Yeah she's really stressed me and my buds out. Why don't you pay for our drinks as compensation, you know, as a gesture of goodwill?" Shameless, this man was simply shameless. By the quantity of mugs on the table, paying for their drinks would severely impact the funds they had on hand. Of course even if he had the wealth of Nazarick at his disposal, not one coin would have gone to this rude man.

"An apology will suffice." Role looked to him and sighed before bowing her head and giving a heartfelt apology. Ainz could feel dissonance with her prior insults, but at least it was sincere.

"Just an apology? You with your armor, you certainly got enough money to pay. When you make a mistake, you gotta pay up." The rough man had risen from his seat and was attempting to intimidate Ainz, who looked down on the smaller man from his fortress-like armor. Wordlessly, Ainz heaved the man over his shoulder and tossed him across the room, before turning to the less boisterous drinkers.

"I am sorry for interrupting your drinking. It seems there is nothing here for us." No companions to be found here, but he preformed a moderate feat of strength. That would etch himself into the minds of others at least a little. He turned to leave with Narberal and Aureole following behind.

"Hey Armor, don't you walk out of here!" This time it was a woman's voice. What now? "You broke my potion! That guy was just trying to stiff you, but my potion is broken! I saved up for weeks to get that!"

"Well it seems I am at fault once again." Playing it humble may mitigate a bit of the negative reputation. Ainz needed to rectify this, but didn't know how to do so. Funds were low and he didn't know how much a potion cost in this world, so he may show his ignorance. On the other hand, he didn't recognize the potion. In Yggdrasil bottle shape helped identify potions, although there were several decorative skins. The blue also didn't match the typical shades he knew of. Information was key.

"What sort of potion was it?"

"A healing potion." A blue healing potion? That seemed like it would be a rare item, but she was an Iron plate. Maybe it was actually a defected potion that looked blue? Magic wasn't very advanced here, so perhaps even weak potions would do. Yes, his own Lesser Health Potion should be equivalent.

"Here you are. With that my debt is resolved." She suspiciously eyed the potion, but accepted it. Good.

Leaving the inn, he felt a little frustrated. Why not spend a little time doing live training?

"Nabe, Role, let us head to the forest and see what we can encounter."

AN: I can't stay up until midnight every day! What foolish precedent was I trying to set? I have other things to write as too!

Ah well, such is the naïveté of weekend inspiration.


	6. Chapter 6

"For being called the Dragonic Kingdom, this place sure is lacking in dragons." Klein mused.

"Maybe we should find some NPCs and ask for a lead."

"Are you going to explode their homes?"

"One time! I did that one time! The devs have probably reset the area and are looking for how it happened."

"Oh yeah, wreck a city one time? No biggie, we're the ones blowing this out of proportion." Kirito sighed, he knew Klein just liked to hassle people a little. He'd gotten used to it over the years, mostly.

"Harry, why don't you use some scouting spells to see if there're any towns nearby."

The group decided to break as their caster began his spells. Kirito looked to the sky, could the servers really handle such detailed graphics? Actually it was probably just the distance that made it seem like the clouds were detailed. Maybe the game was projecting a flat image to save processing power.

They'd travelled for about a day and a half and while they didn't feel tired they were starting to get hungry. Kirito was able to use skills to produce small amounts of food, and Issin complemented it with a few conjugation spells. Getting hungry in game felt weird, he didn't like that. Seemed unnecessary, but the devs of this game seemed like they wanted realism to be maxed. Then Harry snapped to, looking sick.

"Are you okay? Did you get hit by countermeasures?" Asuna asked, noting his paling face.

"To the southwest. Monsters are... killing people and...eating them." He looked sick. Looked like this game was filled with a lot of gritty stuff.

"Sounds like an Event. Why don't we derail it a little?" Kirito suggested. Asuna and Klein nodded in agreement, but Harry One still looked a little sick. They split up, Issin moving more slowly with their sickened caster while the other three moved as the vanguard. Even if Asuna and Klein only had their backup gear it should be more than enough to take on the mobs of this low powered world.

The three closed in with Klein taking point. His Samurai class had the highest defense and with the one with the slowest speed in front it was easier to keep formation. Slow in this context was completely relative, as he still moved with incredible speed. The formation of players approached the village, small fingers of smoke starting to reach for the sky. Kirito had the highest perception could see the attackers first.

"It looks like a group of minotaurs. Strength based, not skill. Urk." His throat jumped as he barely made out one of the creatures tearing an NPC in half. Even at this distance, he could tell it would be graphic once he got closer. Whoever designed this was sick.

"30 seconds until contact. Buff us Iss...Activate your skills everyone." Klein called, hesitating after remembering he wasn't with his usual team. Activating their skills, Kirito worked to control his increased speed and drew his weapons. Asuna seemed to start glowing, one of her Aura abilities, no doubt.

It was upon passing the first few building that they noticed the smell. The iron scent of blood and the sweat of fear. An odor they never before knew, but had no doubt it arose from the spilled viscera. The three gagged upon entering the area, they originated from modern Japan, how could they be accustomed to such smells?

They could sense villagers hiding, for those fleeing were being rounded up by the minotaurs first. Their brown fur was matted with blood, particularly along the arms. Arms dangles from the laws of some, chewing it like gruesome pocky, blood dripping off the fingers on the end.

"Kill for the living, kill for the dead!" Klein roared, recovering from the sight first. His eyes lit with a fire his friends had not seen before, and he charged forward. [Karakurenei] left trails of frost in its wake as he cleaved through a group of minotaurs chasing after a small group of townsfolk.

Asuna acted second, her eyes had been misting up and her hand clenched tightly around her weapon. But seeing Klein move spurred her on to action. She began weaving through the town, cutting down those trying to break their way into the houses.

"This is sick, just sick. Who would make something like this?" Kirito had been around the internet enough to know that people could be pretty malicious, but this was something else. These bodies weren't real, they couldn't be. Even so, you could get sad over a fictional character dying, and when you're in the middle of it... Damn whoever made this happen. Kirito would mess up whatever plan they had.

While Asuna and Klein fought the minotaurs in the village, Kirito brandished his swords and headed for the main force. They were all clumped together. He leaped before them and crossed his swords at a right angle, parallel to the ground.

"I don't know why this is going on, but it ends here." He pulled the weapons across each other, so he held them straight out from his body. "Dual Blade Wave!"

A skill that used the magic in a weapon to create an area attack, part of the Magic Knight class. Two overlapping crescents of light expanded forward, cutting down all in their way. One composed of black and green flame that nevertheless seemed to shimmer with a divine aura. The other was prismatic, every color of the rainbow, but made one think of the greed one would have for gems of great value.

The dozens, perhaps hundreds, of minotaurs were cut down in an instant. Their deaths looked just as brutal as those of the villagers, their insides visible from the clear bisection. The Black Swordsman turned to the village, there was still cleanup to take care of.

Kirito stuck a sword in the back of a minotaur trying to flee. That was the last of them. The villagers were beginning to gather around Asuna, who was using some low tier healing spells. It seemed even that was a great feat of magic in this world. Her class didn't grant her a lot of MP, so Kirito thought it was a bit of a waste. Still, leaving the wounded untreated, even if they were NPCs they seemed too lifelike. He gave her a hand with his Physician skill. Klein helped by locating those really injured and rounding up the survivors. A message from Issin reported that Harry was retching near the outskirts. The War Priest would pop over for any grave injuries, but otherwise kept near their magician.

"How can we ever thank you enough?" The village elder prostrated himself before the three. "You have saved our lives, we are in your debt!"

"No, we're sorry we couldn't get here sooner." Asuna dipped her own head in regret. Where did these minotaurs come from? Why would they attack this village?"

"Are you not from here? No of course not, we wouldn't have to worry if our kingdom had heroes of your caliber. The Dragonic Kingdom borders beastman territories to the south and east. We are frequently subjected to their raids for...food. The queen hires mercenaries to help protect us, but it is not enough."

"So this isn't some rare occurrence? Are you lot safe here? We could escort you somewhere if necessary." Klein offered. Kirito narrowed his eyes a little, he hated escort missions. There was no need to go so far for NPCs, but ugh, how was he supposed to feel about this? They certainly seemed real, but was that enough? He grabbed ahold of his swords, and drew them gently. It helped him relax, sometimes he logged in just to do this if real life was getting too stressful.

 _Saving someone in trouble is only common sense._

 _Follow your own desire. Revel in power. Destroy that which opposes you._

 _If the road is harsh, it is only natural to take your sword and help._

Kirito felt like his swords were actually guiding him. Maybe it was just all this stress getting to him. What did he want? Helping people? He had charged in like the other two, but hadn't he been the slowest to do so? No he would have helped even if they hadn't been there.

He wanted to be a hero.

"I agree, we should help them get to the nearest town." Kirito gave his input.

"We would be eternally grateful. May we have the names of our saviours?"

"Klein."

"Asuna."

"Kirito."

"Then if you would, please guard us to the nearest city of Dchael. We will do all we can to ask them to reward you. It should only be an hour or two before we depart." The village elder once again bowed deeply and left to organize his fellows.

Waiting for the villagers to pack their things, the trio met back up with Harry One and Issin. Harry looked like he'd finally composed himself, but kept his back to the hamlet and had an air purification shield up.

"Yo Harry, how you holding up over there?"

"I'm... I'll be good. Sorry I couldn't help you out there. Sorry I kept you tied up here with me Iss."

"Oi, I'm glad I didn't have to head into that hellscape. This place sure is brutal. Not surprised you lost your lunch."

"Well, it's good you guys are fine. We've agreed to lead the villagers to a city where they should be safe. Guild Leader orders." Klein chuckled mirthlessly.

"That's fine with us. Those people have been through a lot." Issin looked to Kirito "Are these guys really NPCs? You're the programming buff."

"Yeah I bet they are." Kirito would bet that they were. There was no other way this sort of thing could happen "They're pretty high level AIs, but it might be that their systems all overlap. Like each one has its own packet of data for memories and they all ship through the same brain to process that. That would cut down on how much processing power was actually needed.

On top of that, we still haven't encountered any players. It might be that this isn't a game, but a sort of automated story generator. That's probably why the console and stuff got axed, but since our abilities are linked to our avatars we can still use them."

Kirito's explanations were solid. But he couldn't have predicted any of this beforehand. Was he just making up stuff that fit the situation they were in? Well it was impossible for this to be real, so it must be the answer. There was no way they'd magically teleported to some fantasy world.

His companions were growing uneasy, even he could feel the rising tensions. It was getting to be that time when their family should have removed them from the Dive already. But they were all still here. Doubts were arising, but Kirito spoke with confidence. It would be fine, they'd be removed from the game. Just sit tight and hold on to each other.

"After this should we offer to help hunt down some beastmen?" Asuna asked the rest of the group. She was sitting with her legs pulled towards her chest and stared at her feet. "Even if this is a game, they really did look like they were in pain. Should we really let that happen?"

"I'm in." Kirito murmured, mostly to himself. He really didn't want to get into contemplating the ethics of a digital mind. That sort of thing bugged him in scifi settings. He should just be a Hero. Saving people was what Heroes did.

"I won't allow more evil to come to pass."

"We go where Klein goes."

So they all resolved to help protect the Dragonic Kingdom. Monsters would not go unpunished.

Their destination was not far from the village. Perhaps a day, maybe two if the wagons were slow. Kirito spent his time as the vanguard, running about and scouring the terrain for approaching monsters. There were a few ogres and goblins, but he sliced through those before they knew he was there. The rest of the group could cast support magic on others, healing and easing the burdens of the travelers. Kirito was a pure solo build. None of his skills affected other players directly. That was just how he played. To himself he felt as though he wasn't contributing as much,so when they spotted the city soon after they set out the second day, he felt relieved.

The city looked like the one from...Re-Estize was it? A large wall surrounded the city. There were numerous guards stationed at the gate. Seeing the caravan, it looked like they were prepping themselves for high alert. To Kirito's surprise lightly armored soldier rode up to them.

"What happened?" He asked, riding alongside the group. Kirito wondered why he was so worried. The players let the village elder speak first.

"Our village was destroyed by minotaurs. Luckily these warriors defeated them and were able to save our lives. Please, ask your commander to thank them appropriately."

"They repelled minotaur attack? What were the numbers and how many escaped? We may still be in danger."

"No need to worry, we didn't let them escape." Kirito spoke. It seemed like they were about to ready the city for a defensive battle. There was no need to do that.

"You didn't _let_ them escape? Humans don't _let_ beastmen do anything. Are you lot adventurers?"

"We got our copper plates, but the requests were boring."

"We were wandering when we came across the village being attacked, and we couldn't stand by." Asuna added. The scout looked slightly skeptical of their abilities, but nonetheless a bit relieved.

"In that case, I'll ask you and a few villagers to report to the captain to give a short report. We'll reward you as well for your troubles. I'll inform the garrison to prepare the safe-houses for the villagers as temporary lodging." With that he rode back to the gate and inside after a quick discussion. As they approached, the banded iron gates were fully opened to accommodate them.

A man with a decorated helm came out to greet them as they passed through. He looked them over, unimpressed until he noticed their gear. Eyes lingering for a second, he introduced himself.

"Captain Daniels, at your service. First, I would like to thank you for aiding the village. There is a need for us to gather information on the enemy, so I hope you won't be too inconvenienced by our questions."

"Intelligence is the first step to victory."

"Then how have you kept us alive for so long?"

"Because I have you, my living crystal ball!" Klein put Harry in a headlock for his sass. Captain Daniels gave them a look but reserved his comments. He brought them into a building close to the entrance of the city, there were a few maps and diagrams on a large desk. There were six chairs readied for them, four on the long side and two on the short side, with a fancier seventh chair on the other long side. They all took their seats, with Harry and Issin sitting on the far side.

"Could I ask who you all are? I normally wouldn't think a strong adventuring group was here, but your gear is certainly beyond anything I've seen before. You don't match the descriptions of any of the famous groups." He gestured towards Klein's katana.

"This is a piece of junk, Kirito's the one with the good stuff. Ah, name's Klein by the way."

"A piece of junk? Even to my untrained eye, it clearly holds a great deal of power." He turned to Kirito, "May I see your blades Mr. Kirito?"

"Sure." Kirito drew his weapons and set them on the table. Daniels seemed to be unsure if he should leap out of his chair or faint into it.

"This...this is...I can feel the power radiating from them! Where did you find such treasures? These rival Re-Estize's Razor's Edge, no they may even surpass it!"

"Yeah, I worked hard to get them." Kirito brushed it off and returned them to their sheathes. He shrugged." Gear's gear."

Asuna, Issin and Harry One used this moment to introduce themselves, and without the swords in front of him, the captain seemed to regain his calm.

"So how many minotaurs were you facing?"

"Three dozen?"

"27."

"140 maybe?"

"Before you try making up a story to increase your fame, perhaps you should get your story straight." Daniels sighed. "We do have scouts going to survey the damage, but I would like some preliminary info."

"You misunderstand sir, those were our personal counts." Asuna politely interrupted.

"There's no way that's possible. Not only is that beyond human capability, but the minotaurs don't move in force like that. Your gear is unparalleled to be sure, but that would be a feat on par with Adamantite ranked adventurers, perhaps even beyond that."

"Those trash mobs are considered tough?" Issin poorly whispered to Klein.

"Same back in E-Rantel. Remember Kirito's Dire Wolf?"

"Dude really isn't cut out for pet ownership." Kirito and Asuna glared at them, although for different reasons.

"You find a group of nearly 200 minotaurs to be easy to dispose of? You're not even saying it was difficult. What audacity." Captain Daniels hung his head. Who were these adventurers that looked down on their struggle? They did stop to help and looked so confident. "Would you please give us a demonstration of your skills? Even if I did believe you, the reward for 200 minotaurs would be too great a drain. If you demonstrate Adamantium level skills, you will each be rewarded as such."

"If we do so, I also ask you point us towards other towns that might be in danger." Asuna seemed very forward in her desire to go out and save more towns.

"That's fine, but even so I can't guarantee a reward every time if you are as strong as you say."

"It doesn't matter. We seek to save more lives."

"I don't see how I could refuse then."

Daniels visibly grew irked when they refused the small training yard. Instead they insisted on leaving the town. Issin said they wanted to save the town, not leave it in ruins. Asuna felt it was a little out of line to someone whose relationship with them was already on precarious footing.

"I'll be most underwhelming, so I'll go first." Klein sheepishly stepped up. As a defensive class he didn't have flashy abilities, most were to help him damage soak or hit ridiculously hard. Not a whole lot of theatrics. Well except one. Even if it had taken him 5 levels, he didn't regret.

"Giga Drill, Pierce the Heavens!" pointing his sword to the sky, the very air around him seemed to swirl. He leaped into the air almost vanishing, but he returned slamming into the ground, fracturing the earth. The Captain struggled to keep his footing and could only gape.

"I didn't have a target so it was kind of boring. Asuna, you're up! Believe in the me that believes in you!"

"You know I have no idea what you're talking about."

Asuna took a deep breath. What should she call out? She had a lot of commander classes, as well as a mix of Paladin and Cleric abilities. Probably something that would relate to divine abilities. She spread her arms and balls of light coalesced around her and were drawn in.

Seraphim's Blessing

Her hair turned a shimmering white and lengthened. Shining silver gauntlets appeared on her wrists, and radiant white feathers sprouted from her back.

"Eh 'Maou', can't help but stare can you?" Klein noticed Kirito's wide eyes.

"Not everything is a reference."

"But it can be if we try hard enough!" Klein laughed. Kirito wondered if it was worse to be like Asuna and not understand anything that came out of his mouth, or stuck in this hell of comprehending every sideways reference.

Harry One stepped up to the plate. He cricked his knuckles. Flashy? Wizards could do flashy.

Time Waits for Me

An overrank magic, allies within the area acted more than a dozen times faster while everything else froze.

"Dude. You just cast it on an empty space. It's not going to do anything." Issin chastised.

"Gah! I forgot! But time manipulation is so cool!" It seemed at the very least that Captain Daniels had time to recover his bearings. At the moment he was debating if he should rise from his knees.

Issin stepped up next, wondering what Overrank magic to use. He didn't know a great deal, he wasn't a pure spellcaster. Ragnarok was pretty famous, but it would probably cause quite a bit of chaos here. He raised his hands to the sky.

"Sigyn's Absence" the clouds began to darken and expand. A shape writhed in the stratosphere, only seen through the gaps in the clouds. Then it began to rain. Not normal rain, but fist sizes globs of viscous green liquid, which ate at the ground. All together they sounded like the hissing of a mighty serpent, and every time they struck, the earth shook. Harry One threw up a barrier for the captain, who may have been on the verge of fainting.

"Flashy magic casters," Kirito grumbled. Now how was he supposed to top that? He used sharp things, for crying out loud. Now he was going to look incompetent. Issin totally stole the spotlight.

After about a minute, the area in front of them had already become a pockmarked wasteland. Considering how terrified the captain looked, Issin forcibly ended the spell. Now it was Kirito's turn.

"Considering how much stuff we wrecked already, I think I'll pass. But I could totally take any of these guys on in a fight and win right now."

"Cop out Kirito!" Issin shouted "You're cheating me out of my victory!"

"A wise man chooses his battles."

"Since I lost, I'll clean up. Maybe that will redeem me a little." Harry One cast Creation and the land returned to its former, unmarked state.

"So do we pass?"

This... It couldn't be. The events in front of his eyes couldn't be happening. This display of power surpassed that of the Evil Gods, no even that of the Eight Greed Kings. Those were figures of legend, whose stories must have been exaggerated in the telling, and they were stronger still?

They were a group hardly a few years into adulthood, and they casually tossed this power around. It was some sort of game to them, reconstructing the landscape had been a matter of cleanup! He wanted to shout, rant, rave. But he couldn't. To speak out of turn to these inhuman existences? They could destroy the Dragonic Kingdoms on a whim.

There was a bright side to it. That radiant angel Asuna wished to save them from the beastmen. Surely she must be divine intervention, perhaps a true god. She and her fellow gods would definitely save them. Daniels fell to his knees.

"Oh great ones! I humbly beseech you to help us!"

AN: it's way easier for me to write Kirito and co., since when I write Ainz, it usually feels like I'm rehashing the story. I get other people do, and it's not that I don't like borrowing work but it just feels repetitive.

Ah and looking at the reviews someone thought they cleared 8th floor with minimum difficulty. They cleared it on minimum difficulty. AOG withdrew their forces because they knew they wouldn't lose and they wanted a heroic final showdown where they totally curbstomped them personally.

It wasn't Momonga's idea, it was, let's say Ulbert. Yeah, Ulbert is like that.

Also Dale is currently schroedinger's character at the moment. Who's Dale you ask? Exactly.


	7. Chapter 7

Ainz lifted his head from the mountain of heads before him. There was no doubt about it, his Detect Magic: Overrank and Locate Magic: Overrank spells had activated. They were contingency detect spells he'd been able to cast on himself; after seeing the mess at E-Rantel, if any spell above seventh rank was cast he could sense it. The only level he added Locate to was Overrank magic. He didn't wish to waste mana, but if Overrank magic was cast, he wanted to know.

The Detect spell scaled with both caster and the level it was being used to detect. Since it was single use and spells were cast with such frequency in Yggdrasil, giving a Detect Magic: Rank 1 spell long range would almost instantly trigger it. In this world, since higher level magics were rare the unlimited duration came in handy. The developers obviously hadn't built it thinking of a magically scarce world. Detect Magic: Overrank covered an area about the size of Australia when in Yggdrasil, though he hadn't the opportunity until now to test its true limits here.  
Foolishly, he hadn't added Identify Magic as an addition to the spell. The magic appeared a vast distance to the southeast, well outside Re-Estize. If he remembered correctly, it was in the Dragonic Kingdom. The area of effect looked like it was mid-range: Domain Magic. Domain Magic altered the surroundings to make a fight more favorable in most cases.

Ainz quickly recast his spells, not minding burning extra MP to Quicken them. His magic reserves were huge and this matter was important.

"Detect Magic: OverrankLocate Magic: OverrankIdentify MagicFalse CoverIdentify Caster..."  
Ainz led his guild to many victories, PKing opponents that discriminated against heteromorphic players. This was not due to his combat abilities, but how well he could gather information. Even so, his detection spells were triggered before he could finish.

In the same position, Sigyn's Absence activated. A wide range, destructive magic. Not good for fighting a high level opponent, but it would be more than enough to cause terror in this world. A human appearance made its way into his mind. It looked very familiar, there was no doubt they were a player as well. But why were they doing this? This was too inefficient to be fighting another player. Were they a Dangerous Individual?

He began recasting the spells as he thought about how best to defend his guild and yet again another Overrank magic was cast. Creation. It covered the same area as the previous spell. Were they cleaning up after themselves? They might just be showing off their power, but Ainz couldn't discount the possibility the show of force was being used to dominate the town. Being incautious could quickly lead to death in a situation with two Overrank magic users. How could he turn this situation to his advantage?

If they could be trusted, it would be a huge boost for the forces of Nazarick. Although they wouldn't be allowed to join the citadel proper. Being of a heteromorphic race was an absolute requirement, he would not go against what the base stood for. They were humans and he had a feeling why they looked so familiar was because they likely stormed the Guild Hall at the end of Yggdrasil. They should be able to put that behind them, but if they couldn't...  
Bait would be the best thing for them to be. Ainz had no idea of how strong the entities of the New World could be, and he refused to risk the creations of his friends to test the waters. Instead, these flashy players could draw the eyes of the major dangers in the world, while Nazarick remained in the shadows. He might extend an olive branch, but they would probably best serve as bait.

"What's going on my lord?" Narberal rushed over through the forest, tossing another few proofs of subjugation onto the pile.

"I have detected the use of Overrank magic. It is not improbable they are the ones who caused the damage to E-Rantel. Once we take the monster parts back to the guild, we will begin a more thorough investigation. Role, use your magic to help transport the goods."

"Yes my lord."

"Refer to me as Momon. Even though I removed my armor, sound can travel farther than one can see in a forest."

"You got it, Momon!" Aureole's personality did a 180 to her cheerful side. Ainz, noticing some of the more detailed detection spells run out recast them for a final time. If these did not pick up on anything, then he would let the spells with limited duration expire. Sensing nothing, he returned to his armored form. The trio returned to E-Rantel, mountain of monster parts in tow.

"Th-this is..." The clerk was visibly stunned with the amount they were turning in. It was enough for Ainz to furrow his non-existent brows, one should endeavor to be professional even in surprising situations. "Excuse me, but did you really defeat all these yourself?"

"Of course. Is there a problem?" Ainz wanted to get through collecting the reward as quickly as possible. He didn't wish for his Momon personality to be seen as impatient, so he bit his tongue and calmly dealt with the situation.

"Well it's just that, well, this is an unprecedented haul for a Copper Plate."

"Whose fault is that, you desk jockey? Maybe we wanted to do something bigger, but you only gave us these weak copper tags!"

"Calm down Role. I apologize for her rudeness." Ainz bowed his head. "I am sure your system works admirably for those just beginning to adventure. However since we are already experienced and there was no way around starting as a Copper Plate, this is the result. Please reward us and take the time needed to evaluate our level."

"A-ah, right. I will speak with the Guildmaster about this." She stammered a little before looking to the sack of body parts. "What have you brought with you?"

Ainz handed over a sheet of paper that had numerous tally marks as well as the final numbers. He predicted this, and the names of the monsters were written in the language of the land. They, along with a few other simple words were all he knew at the moment, but hopefully he could avoid suspicion until he was fully literate.

"36 Ogres as well as...mmm, I'm terribly sorry sir, but I don't believe we have enough on hand to pay you the full price."

"You may defer some of the payment until a later date. By the end of the week, one of us will come to collect."

"Y-yes sir." The clerk looked shaken up, but Ainz figured he should command some respect. He was being quite lenient, he wasn't going to charge them any extra for their incompetence. Well it would have been a bother to do so. Besides, while amassing wealth from this world couldn't all be done in one go. It would be sufficient to acquire just enough to cover their adventuring expenditures at the moment.

After retrieving the goods from the lady, Ainz bid her good day and then left. Leaving the city, he took a final glance around at the rubble. The breaks occurred from north to south. In other words, towards the Draconic Empire. If they were powerful enough to cast Overrank magic, it shouldn't be difficult for them to make the journey.

What was he to do with this information though? Knowledge was power, but what benefit would it bring to Nazarick? Ainz wanted to hold his head in place, lest it start spinning in circles; while he was certainly capable in tactics, these sorts of upper level stratagems were beyond him. Did he dare risk coming into contact with the other Players?

With Narberal and Aureol beside him, in the end he decided not to pursue the matter for the time being. While they were not weak, compared to a high-level player, their safety could not be guaranteed. Nazarick would establish its position in the New World before undertaking any such risks.

It would be best if they gained the support of the country; Nazarick surpassed the military might of Re-Estize Kingdom, but they would be able to cover their tracks if it was used as a proxy. Luckily if he mentioned it to Demiurge, Ulbert's devil would be able to come up with a plan to worm their way into the inner circles of the kingdom. Being a ruler was all about delegation.

A/N: Okay, so it's a little underwhelming, but I've had it sitting in my google drive for ages. I'm actually spending most of my time trying to write my own Original Fiction on RoyalRoadL, Friendly Neighborhood Necromancer. Of course now I'm procrastinating writing that so hard, I've looped around to working on old projects so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


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